1. At its meeting on 15 June Fauquier and his council decided that “a Proclamation forthwith issue for dissolving the present Assembly, and that the Writs for electing the Burgesses bear Teste this Day, and be made returnable the 27th of July next” (Exec. Journals of Virginia Council, 6:101–5). On 20 July the governor and council decided to put off the meeting of the assembly until 14 September.

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GW Lost First Election

2. As early as May 1755 when he was only 23 years old GW expressed to his brother Jack an interest in seeking a seat in the colony’s House of Burgesses, and later in the year, at the election on 10 Dec. 1755 in Winchester, some of GW’s friends did put his name forward as a candidate to represent Frederick County in the House. GW ran a poor third behind Hugh West and Thomas Swearingen. See GW to John Augustine Washington, 28 May 1755, and Adam Stephen to GW, 23 Dec. 1755, n.2. There seems to be little doubt that in November 1757 when GW became ill and left Winchester for Alexandria and Mount Vernon, he had already decided to stand for election to the House of Burgesses from Frederick County and had told his friends as much (see Robert Stewart to GW, 24 Nov. 1757, especially note 10, and Nathaniel Thompson to GW, 20 Feb. 1758).

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3. Thomas Bryan Martin (1731–1798),

Lord Fairfax’s nephew and his land agent for the Fairfax Grant, was paired in the Frederick County election with GW against the incumbents Thomas Swearingen and Hugh West. Matter is spelled “Mre” here and Matters is spelled “Mres” above, and in both instances Jones inserted the symbol for their expansion.

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Campaigners for GW

4. George William Fairfax and John Carlyle were up from Alexandria and Fielding Lewis and Charles Dick were up from Fredericksburg on election day to give their support and their vote at Winchester to GW and Thomas Bryan Martin. Commissary Thomas Walker of Albemarle County and Lt. Charles Smith, commander of Fort Loudoun, were also on hand to give their support, and GW’s friends Capt. John McNeill and Dr. James Craik of the 1st Virginia Regiment were down from Fort Cumberland for the election. For an account of what transpired on election day, see Charles Smith to GW, 24 July.

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The Rangers didn’t like staying inside Fort Loudoun

5. See John Hite to GW, 2 July. For references to the small detachment of Robert Rutherford’s rangers at Fort Loudoun being released to range on the county’s frontiers, see Charles Smith to GW, 1 July, n.5.

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North Caroline Troops here at Fort Loudoun

6. For a description of the North Carolina troops sent to Winchester to join the Forbes expedition, see St. Clair to GW, 22 June, n.3.

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Indian Raid on Massanutten

7. See John Hite to GW, 2 July, n.1, for a description of the raid on the settlement at Massanutten. Jones’s “other friend” was Thomas Bryan Martin.

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GW had permission to go to election

8. John Kirkpatrick on 6 July, James Wood on 7 July, and James Glen on 19 July also urged GW to go to Winchester. On 19 July Bouquet gave him permission to go, but GW decided to remain at Fort Cumberland. For GW’s decision not to attend the polling in Winchester, see GW to Bouquet, 21 July, n.1. But see also Adam Stephen to GW, 19 July 1758.